


You're Still Mine

by calbright95



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Aftercare, Age Play, Age Regression/De-Aging, Daddy Kink, Dom Louis, Dom/sub, Infantilism, M/M, Needy Harry, Sub Harry, Subspace, Thumb-sucking, that's all the tags I can think of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-29
Updated: 2015-10-02
Packaged: 2018-04-01 18:59:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4031023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calbright95/pseuds/calbright95
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It happened twice before Louis downright declared to himself that Harry sucking his thumb in bed wouldn’t become a thing, because Louis loves it too much, and Harry isn't even aware he's doing it. It will not become a thing.</p>
<p>Except, of course, it does.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It’s not going to be a _thing_ , Louis decides, because if it becomes a thing he will surely explode due to the simultaneous buildup of guilt and lust. The only way that it could possibly become a thing was if Louis brought it up, because there’s no way in hell Harry would mention it. Louis doesn’t even know if Harry’s aware he was doing it.

            It happened twice before Louis downright declared to himself that Harry sucking his thumb in bed wouldn’t become a thing. There are many appropriate adjectives to describe Louis, he knows, but a selfish bastard is not one of them. Well, not at least when it comes to Harry.

            The first time it happened caught Louis so off guard he completely froze. Looking back, stopping all movement was most likely not the best reaction, but Harry didn’t even open his eyes. Instead, he let out a high pitched whine around his thumb, and that was the only time Louis can remember feeling lost when it came to Harry. Now, he thinks, it shouldn’t have blindsided him so completely. Harry’s always been needy when he managed to fall into the proper headspace. Hell, Harry’s been calling Louis daddy since he was sixteen, and the first time it fell out of Harry’s lips Louis didn’t even bat an eye.

            He’s being hard on himself, maybe, but he feels awful about how much he loved it when Harry mumbled daddy around the thumb in his mouth. He feels guilty, and if he really admits it, scared about what it means. Which is why he refuses for this to become a thing. He liked it too much. He thinks about it too much, and he’s not selfish enough for it to become a _thing_.

            Except, of course, it does.

            Louis’ life was going great, everything was swell when he wasn’t picturing the way Harry’s thumb looked between his red lips, thank you very much. Harry had only sucked his thumb twice, and Louis was coping well, until he accidentally manages to fuck Harry so far into his headspace that his glassy eyes squeeze close and his mouth is hanging open. Louis is half expecting Harry to scream, but all that comes out is the tiniest whimper of “daddy” Louis has ever heard, and he nearly loses it right then and there. This headspace is different than subspace, Louis vaguely notes as he presses loving kisses over Harry’s chest. Normally when Harry is in his subspace, his entire focus is on Louis, waiting to follow every order and soak in every praise. This headspace, though, seems like Harry is so boneless and relaxed he’s not even there, which is the source of the creeping fear in Louis’ chest. But a little scared or not, Louis can always manage to appreciate a naked Harry Styles breathless beneath him.

            “Hey love, can you open your eyes for Daddy, please?” Louis whispers, afraid that if he speaks too loud, it would upset Harry, which is ridiculous because Harry is a twenty-one year old adult man, but then again, Louis thinks right now he could argue otherwise.

            Harry’s eyelashes flutter until his eyes are finally locked on Louis, and Louis feels weirdly relieved. “What’s your color, baby?” Louis asks, shifting to hold his weight on his forearms bracketing Harry’s head, determined to keep Harry with him as long as possible.

            Harry moans a bit as Louis shifts, Louis’ toned stomach pressing directly on his leaking cock. “Green, daddy,” he says against Louis’ lips. “Fuzzy. Good fuzzy.”

            Brushing Harry’s cheek bone with his thumb, Louis tries not to outwardly shiver at the higher pitch of Harry’s voice. Oh dear. Louis may have made a mistake. Louis may be a little frightened.

            He presses a soft kiss to the end of Harry’s nose, earning a small smile from the younger boy. “So good for me, Haz,” he says moving his hips again. He needs a plan of action and bringing Harry back to him is step number one. He doesn’t have a step number two, but that is neither here nor there. The best way to bring Harry back from subspace, and Louis is still at the point of hope that this strange behavior is a type of subspace, is to let him cum and then cuddles. Louis is a fan of both of those things. He can do this. He is in control.

            Harry preens at the complement, his eyes going shut and Louis can’t find it in him to make him focus. “Wanna cum, baby?” Louis asks with a particularly hard thrust.

            Harry moans, legs wrapping around Louis’ waist and pulling him closer, curls tickling Louis’ neck as he nods his head. “Please, Daddy,” Harry says gripping Louis’ hips.

            “Go ahead, Haz. Want you to cum for me.” And Harry does, of course, and Louis swears that it’ll never get old, the fact that he tells Harry he wants him to cum and he does. Louis finds many things about Harry amazing, and cumming on command is definitely in the top five.

            When Harry comes, his already closed eyes squint even more and he releases a beautiful breathy moan as he clenches around Louis, causing him to cum inside Harry before he can even make the conscious choice.

            Louis collapses on Harry’s chest, his head going up and down with Harry’s heavy breathing. _I did that_ , he thinks proudly. He gives himself a few seconds to collect his thoughts, his hand blindly reaching up to card his fingers through Harry’s sweaty, long hair. As soon as Harry feels Louis’ touch, he turns his head toward Louis’ hand, and Louis feels what must be Harry’s fist brush against his wrist. He lifts his head, a little confused, and the sight causes his mouth to drop in shock. Harry’s eyes are closed, his face the picture of complete bliss and relaxation, and his thumb is in his mouth.

            What Louis should most definitely not do, he decides, is freak out. That would be bad. Very bad.

            He needs a new plan, since step one has failed him.

            Louis rests his chin on his free hand on Harry’s chest, his other hand coming down from Harry’s hair to cup his cheek. “Can you open your eyes for me, love?” Louis asks as gently as he can.

            Harry shifts a little on the pillow and Louis brushes a few strands of hair out of his face. Finally, Harry opens his eyes, and the first thing Louis thinks is that Harry looks sleepy and a little high. “Hi, Daddy,” he mumbles around his thumb, and oh, okay, “daddy” after sex is new.

            Louis tries to keep his facial expression the same, and it must work because Harry only smiles at him with a look of blind trust that knocks the breath out of Louis. “I’m going to the bathroom to grab a flannel to clean us up, alright?” He doesn’t actually expect Harry to object because the bathroom is only ten steps away, and even with Harry in his deepest subspace he’s been okay with Louis being gone for two seconds. Now though, Harry’s bottom lip juts out in a weirdly adorable pout. “Stay,” he says, his forehead creasing in concern.

            Louis blinks at him, because blinking seems like the only logical response when Louis realizes Harry’s not kidding. Harry is being serious right now. Louis is scared.

            “Please, Daddy,” Harry whimpers, and, oh my god, Louis is pretty sure Harry’s voice is edging on panic. Almost like a temper tantrum. Louis does not know what to do, and for a fleeting second he has a strong urge to call his mom.

            “Alright, baby,” Louis says pressing a kiss to Harry’s chest before rising to a sitting position. Harry must think Louis was making to get up because the hand not in his mouth wraps around Louis’ wrist in a tight grip. He doesn’t say anything, just looks at Louis with wide eyes, and makes a noise that sounds like a whine. Louis doesn’t say anything either, just gives him a small smile as he reaches to grab a few tissues off their nightstand. “Can you sit up for me?” he asks. “And then cuddles and sleep. How does that sound?” He continues to rake his hand through Harry’s hair, lightly scratching his scalp, and if Harry was in his normal mindset, Louis would make a joke about how he must have been a cat in his past life. Now, Louis doesn’t think Harry would get it.

            Harry continues to suck on his thumb as he sits against the headboard, his movements lazy and slow. “Good boy,” Louis praises as he begins to clean the cum off Harry’s chest. Harry hums at the praise, a smile growing on his face. “Good boy,” Harry repeats to himself, and Louis notices the childlike quality to his voice. After the past thirty minutes, this doesn’t surprise him, and Louis doesn’t know if that should worry him.

            “Open your legs up, babe,” Louis says softly, patting Harry’s thigh. Harry obeys instantly, of course he does, because some things never change. As gently as he can, Louis cleans Harry, soothing him with praises when he starts to squirm as Louis cleans his used hole. “All done, baby,” Louis says throwing the dirty tissues on the floor.

            Harry removes his thumb from his mouth to absentmindedly scratch at his stomach. “Cuddles?” he asks so hopeful Louis can’t help but to smile.

            Louis decides to stop worrying long enough to tease this super adorable version of Harry. “Hmm,” Louis hums pretending to think about it. He flops dramatically on Harry’s chest before he tickles his sides. Harry outright giggles, and the sound almost causes Louis to freeze. But he doesn’t because Harry starts wheezing “daddy” and grips his sides, and Louis better stop before he gives his boy an asthma attack.

            “Silly,” Harry giggles into Louis’ chest, his tattooed arm coming up to snake around Louis’ slim waist.

            The giggles eventually stop and Harry’s breathing becomes more even. Louis looks down and sure enough Harry is already asleep, clinging to Louis’ front like an overgrown koala. His thumb is back in his mouth, and this time Louis doesn’t balk at the sight. Even though Louis hasn’t seen this side of Harry before, he loves him so much his chest feels tight. Louis shuffles around a bit to find a comfortable position before closing his eyes, his breaths automatically matching Harry’s. No matter where they are, or what version of Harry Louis has wrapped in his arms, it only takes a few minutes listening to Harry’s calm breathing for Louis to fall asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for the lovely feedback :)

When Louis wakes up, he automatically reaches out to seek the warmth only one Harry Styles can provide, only to find Harry’s side of the bed empty and cold, meaning he’s been awake for a while. Louis tries not to panic because he has been known to sleep in while Harry does his own thing. Harry could very easily be at the gym, getting groceries, or, even better, making Louis breakfast and tea. Glancing at the clock, Louis notes it’s too early for Harry to be at the gym or store, and he doesn’t smell anything cooking. Louis does not panic. He does not worry that Harry is in the same mindset as last night and has somehow wandered out of their house. He does not worry that Harry remembers how he acted last night and is so embarrassed he left for the day, like that one fight they had when Harry went to L.A. without even telling Louis, the bastard. 

Okay, so maybe Louis is worried. He’s a good boyfriend, dammit, and worrying does not make him weak. It does not mean he has lost control. 

Taking a deep breath to calm his thoughts, Louis gets out of bed, pulls on a clean pair of pants, and tiptoes down the hall, hoping to hear Harry singing along to the radio, and all of this be one big misunderstanding. Instead, the kitchen is empty when Louis finally enters, but he sees his morning cuppa near the microwave where Harry always puts it if he wakes up first. With a sigh of relief, Louis heats up his tea, thanking the gods above that at least Harry is thinking at a mature enough level to make tea. At least now Louis knows they can talk about whatever the hell last night was, and he can stop trying to ignore the topic. 

The microwave beeps, and Louis hopes Harry can hear it so he knows he’s awake and will come give him his morning kiss that is long overdue. Louis takes a sip of his tea, deeming it the right temperature and strains to hear of any sign of Harry. None.

“Harold?” he calls out. Nothing.

He checks all the bathrooms, empty, their gym in the basement, empty, before finally glancing out of the living room window to see Harry on the porch, cuppa in one hand, with his phone pressed against his cheek.

Louis does not want to eavesdrop, he’s not a noisy teenager anymore, but with his face pressed against the window it’s almost impossible to not hear what Harry’s saying. He catches the end of one of Harry’s notorious speeches, hearing “…thinks I’m a freak and leaves. God Nick, stop laughing. I’m trying to be serious here!”

Oh. So Harry can share his thoughts with Nick Grimshaw, of all fucking people, but not his own boyfriend. Louis is not jealous. Louis is not angry. Louis is calm.  


He slides open the glass door with a loud, “Morning, babe,” hoping that Nick will be able to hear him. 

Apparently Harry was so engrossed in his conversation that he was not expecting company, and he jumps in the air, spilling his tea with a very mainly yelp. “Shit, Lou! You could have given me a heart attack!”

Louis rolls his eyes at Harry’s theatrics, silently pleased he now has all of Harry’s attention. 

Once Harry seems to have gathered himself, he flinches as if he just noticed Louis’ presence, his gaze shifting to the ground. He suddenly seems small and young. Louis wants to hug him. “Gotta go, Nick,” he mumbles into the phone, ending the conversation without waiting to hear Nick’s reply, which Louis silently counts as a victory.

“Morning, babe,” Louis repeats, this time barely above a whisper. 

Harry doesn’t meet Louis’ gaze as he sits down, pulling a discarded blanket around his bare shoulders like a shield. Louis tries, and fails, not to feel personally offended by his boyfriend’s blatant attempt at distance. 

Taking a small sip of his tea just to fill the silence, Louis decides it would be best to wait for Harry to start talking, and Louis is determined to wait as long as needed. 

Louis does not expect Harry to stare at the ground in silence as long as he does, and he’s getting restless. Sitting still has never been Louis’ thing. He also doesn’t expect the first sound Harry makes to be small sniffle, sounding like he’s trying to hide it. 

Risking a glance at Harry, Louis sees that the younger lad has his face in his hands, and his shoulders are slightly trembling. Louis gathers Harry in his arms so fast he almost manages to knock them both over. In any other situation it would be humorous, but right now neither of them give it a second thought. Louis somehow situates Harry to be cradled in his lap, even though he’s squirming with embarrassment. 

“Lemme go, Lou,” Harry mumbles weakly. 

Louis only tightens his grip around Harry’s waist. “No,” he says simply. 

They sit in silence, apart from Harry’s sniffling and jagged breathing, Louis determined to not push Harry on the subject since it’s clearly upsetting him so much. Louis has never been good with silence, or waiting for that matter, but he thinks that Harry needs to be the one to initiate the inevitable conversation, and Louis is too stubborn to speak first.  
A few minutes later, Harry must realize that Louis isn’t letting him off the hook because once he’s calmed down he sighs and clears his throat, but still doesn’t say anything.  
The anticipation is killing Louis, and he’s about one minute away from an explosive yell, never good, when Harry finally speaks up. “I’m sorry.” 

The small little whisper takes Louis so off guard he doesn’t know what to say for a moment, choosing to comb through Harry’s hair as he gathers his thoughts. 

Harry must take Louis’ silence has a negative reaction because his breathing speeds up and he tried to wiggle away from Louis. 

“No, no, baby,” Louis says pulling Harry back against his chest. “I didn’t say anything because I was thinking. But what do you have to be sorry for?” He keeps his voice as soothing and calm as possible in an attempt to comfort Harry. 

“Please don’t make me say it, I can’t, I’m sorry, please, Lou, please.” Harry begins working himself up, seeming on the edge of panic, and for a brief second Louis worries he doesn’t know what to do. 

But it’s Harry, and really, he’s the only thing in Louis’ crazy world that makes sense, so Louis acts without thinking, which would be a horrible mistake in any other situation, but this is different. He cradles the back of Harry’s head, gently placing it on his left shoulder as he swings Harry’s long legs over his own thighs, Louis’ right arm swung over Harry’s waist to pull him against his chest. 

“You’re alright, I’ve got you, yeah?” He coos, gently rocking Harry back and forth. “Love you, Haz. So much. Please don’t cry.”

Harry continues to cry for a bit, but then is quiet as he plays absentmindedly with the hem of Louis’ shirt. “I’m so sorry, I’m seriously so embarrassed, shit that must have been so weird for you, I don’t even know what happened, but I won’t do it again, I promise, I didn’t even mean to, I swear-“

Harry’s rambling is making it hard for Louis to form a coherent thought, so he simply places a hand over Harry’s mouth, effectively cutting of his sentence. 

“Haz,” Louis says, hand still on Harry’s mouth, forcing him to listen carefully. “You have nothing to be sorry for. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. It wasn’t weird. It was surprising, but not weird. You can do it again if you want. I enjoyed it.” Louis waits a second before removing his hand. “Understand?” 

After thinking silently for a moment, trying to decide if Louis was being serious when he said he also enjoyed last night, Harry gently nods before folding himself as small as possible in Louis’ lap. “I suppose you would like to discuss this in more detail,” he says a bit grumpily, hiding his face in Louis’ shoulder so his boyfriend wouldn’t see his blushing cheeks.

After four years of being sexually active together, Harry knows that Louis deems it necessary to talk these sort of things out, especially after Louis cuffed Harry to the bed for the first time, and they both ended up slightly freaking out. There might have been tears. There was definitely apologies. 

Louis’ first instinct is to make a sarcastic remark along the lines of “no, I was actually thinking of doing some water aerobics,” but he thinks this is not a time for humor. He clears his throat before saying, “of course, love”, and combs a hand through Harry’s hair in an attempt to make him feel relaxed. “You first?”

Harry still refuses to lift his head from Louis’ shoulder, and Louis hates the fact that Harry feels so embarrassed that he can’t even look at him. They’re past the point of embarrassment for fucks sakes. If they can regularly have their tongues in each other’s bums, they should be able to have a conversation with eye contact. Louis takes a deep breath to lessen his frustration so he doesn’t say something he’ll later regret. His relationship with Harry is the one thing he has control over in his life, not his family or his job, or even his day to day activities, but this, Harry, this is his, and he feels lost with not knowing what to do.

Raising Harry’s head up with two fingers under his chin, Louis tries to look stern when he speaks. “I want to be able to see your face, Harry.” He doesn’t mean to sound as dominant as he does, but it seems to work because Harry slumps in Louis’ lap, the tension seeming to have been drained out of him. “’M sorry,” he says, making sure to stare Louis right in the eyes. He wants to show that he can follow instructions and be a good boy for Louis. 

“Go on then.”

Harry takes a deep breath, mustering up as much courage as possible. “I don’t really know how it happened. At first, it was kind of like going under, like subspace, ya know? But you were being so gentle and taking care of me that I just slipped under to another place, I guess.” 

If Louis and Harry had not exhaustively talked about subspace, Louis would be freaked out. Nothing about going under seems appealing to him, but he also understands why Harry enjoys it so much. But going under to a place that isn’t subspace, now this is new, and Louis needs his control back as much as Harry needs to give it up.

“But it’s a good place, right? The new headspace?” Louis asks. “What did you feel like?” 

Nodding quickly, Harry is fast to reassure Louis. “It’s great, promise.” He drifts off for a second as he tries to remember the exact feeling of slipping to the new place. “I felt like I didn’t have to worry about anything because I knew that you were going to take care of me. I wasn’t thinking of you as my dom, but as my daddy, because I felt little and safe.” His eyes travel down as a blush covers his face. “God, it sounds so weird.”

Now that Louis understands what’s going through Harry’s head, his anxiety level has dramatically decreased. “Do you remember the other times? Like, before last night, when you sucked your thumb?”

Harry cringes slightly. “Um, yeah, a little bit. I was hoping you forgot about that, actually.”

Louis chuckles lightly as he tilts Harry’s head up to look at him. “Not likely, Haz. So is this kink something you would want to do again?”  
Louis expects Harry to immediately say yes. Even though he seems embarrassed by how he acted, he also literally just explained how nice it was, and Louis would be honored to provide that for him again. However, Harry doesn’t say anything right away, causing Louis to second guess everything. 

“Harry?” Louis prompts, looking at the younger boy expectantly. 

Reaching around Louis, Harry picks up the cup of tea and takes a sip. He’s clearly stalling, but Louis decides to let him have this one. 

“It’s not just a kink,” he says after placing the cup back on the table. 

Louis blinks. “What?” 

“I mean, like, it obviously is, but like, not always, I think.”

Louis doesn’t understand. “I don’t understand.”

Harry sighs and begins to mess with the hem of Louis’ shirt again. “I don’t think it’s always sexual,” he says eventually. “Like, I like the idea of feeling little when we’re not fooling around.”

Louis blinks again.

“It doesn’t have to be a regular thing,” Harry is quick to explain. “But I think it’d be nice if I’m feeling stressed out or something, and we can just watch a movie and I can just…ya know,” he trails off. 

“Be little?” Louis offers. 

Harry nods, biting his lip. 

Louis tries to picture it, tries to picture doing something completely normal, like watching a footie match, while Harry acts like a baby. Would this be like a baby sitting job? Or like when he had to sacrifice so much as a kid when his mum needed help watching the girls? They don’t really do the dom and sub thing outside of the bedroom, so this would be unchartered territory for both of them, and that makes Louis nervous. 

But this is Harry, and Louis would sacrifice his bloody soul for his boy, so his response comes quicker than either of them expect. “Okay,” he says. “Let’s try it out.”

Surprised, Harry quickly sits up, his eyes wide, this time having no trouble with eye contact as he gives Louis a look of shock. “Wait, are you sure?” Harry asks. 

Honestly, Louis is not completely sure about the details, but he does well being spontaneous, one of the reasons he handles control over Harry so well. And even if he isn’t sure about what to do, or how he personally feels, he’s sure about the boy in his lap looking at him like he has all the answers. 

“Yes,” he says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so it looks like I will be making this a chaptered story. Oops?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kind words, kuddos, and views! It seems that I can't leave this story alone. Please comment if you would like more chapters, or perhaps some suggestions of what you would like to see next.

For the next week, Louis tries to fully uncover the inside of Harry’s head, making sure they are both crystal clear on what Harry would like when he “ages down”. So far, sucking his thumb and calling Louis “daddy” are all Harry has requested, and Louis bought Harry a stuffed white bunny, which is incredibly soft if he does say so himself, to give Harry as a surprise. Louis spends as much time as possible trying to picture Harry in his headspace, aiming to be one hundred percent comfortable with the idea of his boyfriend acting like a toddler. It takes less time than he expected. 

Both boys are busier than they anticipated preparing for the next tour, barely managing tired blowjobs before bed or quick hand jobs in the shower, so Harry aging down was out of the question until they had a few days to themselves. Instead of the desired free time, their days are filled with phone conferences, Skype sessions with teams in different countries, and meetings in downtown London. The last meeting of the week is scheduled for Friday afternoon, and all four members are excited to be through with work until the tour officially starts. 

Louis realizes he’s being a selfish twat, and send a quick thanks to the man upstairs, or the force, or whatever, that he has the best job in the world.

Friday rolls around slower than Louis would have liked, and an hour before Harry and Louis were going to head to the meeting, Harry’s phone rings, and the caller ID displaying “Modest Mgmt.”. Harry shoots Louis a questioning glance because why would they need to call if they were meeting soon, Louis shrugging in response, before he accepts the call. 

Louis tries not to appear to be listening to the apparent small talk, knowing Harry would protest that he could handle it himself. He isn’t worried and knows Harry is more than capable of handling whatever the situation is, so Louis decides it would be best if he busied himself. Deciding out of ear shot would make Harry most comfortable, Louis ends up in their bedroom, sprawled like a starfish on their shared bed. After staring at the ceiling for a few seconds, he pulls out his phone to mindlessly scroll through twitter. He’s in the depths of David Beckham’s tweets when he realizes how long Harry’s been on the phone and frowns to himself before stretching and making his way back to the living room, assuming that the conversation is finished. 

“What did they want?” Louis yells as he makes a pit stop in the kitchen to grab a glass of water. He takes a sip to wait for Harry to reply, but after being met with what sounds like a small sniffle, he quickly places his glass somewhere on the counter and jogs the short distance to find Harry in the fetal position on the couch. 

Louis approaches him slowly, whispering comforting words when Harry looks up with red cheeks and wet eyes. “What happened, baby?” He asks, kneeling on the floor to gently comb his fingers through Harry’s hair. The gentle touch is all it takes for Harry’s bottom lip to wobble, followed by a full on crying fit, his sobs coming from deep inside his chest. Louis reminds himself to breathe. 

Harry suddenly reaches forward and roughly grabs a fistful of Louis’ shirt in each hand, tugging Louis towards him. Louis gets the hint and crawls on the couch to pull Harry against his chest, Harry’s hands still gripped tightly to his shirt, as if he’s afraid of letting go. 

“Talk to me, baby, please,” Louis whispers into Harry’s hair.

To avoid speaking, Harry buries his face in Louis’ neck, shaking his head as he trembles from the power of his crying. 

“I can’t help if I don’t know what’s wrong,” Louis tries to reason. 

Louis feels Harry’s lips moving on his neck, and he thinks Harry might be saying something. He gently pulls Harry away from him so he’s forced to look him in the eyes. “What was that, love?” he asks gently. 

Swallowing nervously, Harry shifts his gaze down until Louis forces his head up with two fingers under his chin. “Management said we didn’t have to go into the office because we could talk about it over the phone,” Harry says, his breathing ragged and his voice small. “The other lads weren’t even scheduled to be there. Just us.” 

They both know what that means, and it’s never good. Whenever there’s a meeting for just the two of them, it always has to deal with their relationship which results in shoving them back farther and farther into the closet. Louis knows that whatever they told Harry must be pretty bad because he hasn’t had this kind of breakdown since Eleanor was first hired. 

“What did they want?” Louis asks in a tight voice. 

Harry automatically tenses at Louis’ tone and curls into Louis’ side to make himself appear smaller. “I’m not mad at you, love. I promise,” Louis says quickly. “Just angry at them for making you so upset, that’s all.”

Harry takes a deep breath and tightens his hold on Louis’ shirt. “They want me to have a beard.” His voice is a hollow whisper. Louis wants to cry. 

There’s a moment of silence where Louis thinks he can audibly hear his own heart breaking, a moment where the floor seems to slip out from under them, and Louis feels like he’s falling. Harry begins to loudly sob. “I tried to tell them no, I promise,” he says quickly, as if trying to reassure Louis that he didn’t want this. “They wouldn’t listen to me. Please don’t be mad, daddy, please, I sorry, I sorry.”

It takes Louis a second to register what Harry said, his brain too busy trying to fight the blind rage threatening to take over, but once he realizes he needs to be “daddy” for Harry, he springs into action. He can deal with their asshole of a management team once his baby is calm and happy. 

He uses his thumb to wipe away Harry’s tears, even though new ones soon take their place. “Daddy isn’t mad at you, baby boy,” he says softly. He cradles Harry against his chest before sitting them both up. “I need you to breathe, Harry,” he says while gently rubbing Harry’s back. “Can you take a deep breath for me, please?” 

Harry does as Louis says, of course, and soon his breathing is back to normal, and the tears appeared to have stopped, leaving his face red and splotchy. “Daddy not mad at me?” he asks in a tiny voice, confirming that he has officially aged down. This was not how Louis expect their first time to go, but roll with the punches, go with the flow, it is what it is, and all that.

Because Harry is so adorable, Louis can’t help but to kiss him lightly on the nose, Harry giving him a small smile in response, before saying, “not mad at all.” Louis kisses his nose again just because he can, and he suddenly remembers the stuffed toy he bought Harry. It seems like the younger lad could use some cheering up, and Louis hopes the stuffed animal will get Harry’s mind off of things. Plus Louis really wants to see his boy happy. 

Louis waits another minute to make sure the tears have stopped flowing from Harry’s eyes before he says “Guess what, baby,” in an excited voice.

Harry immediately perks up, his eyes going wide with childlike curiosity. Louis’ heart melts. “What?” he whispers as if in on a secret. 

Louis stands up and takes Harry’s hand to pull him up as well. “Daddy got you a surprise. Would you like to get it?” 

Gasping happily, Harry begins bouncing on the balls of his feet, impatiently tugging on Louis’ hand. “Yes! Can we get it now? What is it? Where is it?” 

Laughing at his boyfriend’s excitement, Louis leads Harry to their bedroom, ordering him in a jokingly stern voice to sit on the bed and close his eyes, no peaking allowed. 

“I not peaking, daddy! Promise!” Harry says with a small pout. 

Louis grabs the bag with the toy from under the bed before standing in front of Harry. “Okay, you can open your eyes.” 

Harry squeals when he sees the bag, thrilled with the idea of getting a present. When he pulls out the bunny, his eyes widen, and he instantly squeezes it against his chest and buries his face into its fur. “She’s so soft,” he says dreamily. 

Louis takes a seat next to Harry on the bed and tries not to feel too smug about knowing his boy so well. “So it’s a she then? Does she have a name?” 

With his cheek still pressed against the bunny, Harry purses his lips as he thinks. “Thumper,” he finally says with a big smile, “like in Bambi.” He eventually lifts his head from   
the bunny to rest it on Louis’ shoulder as he beings to suck his thumb. “Thank you, daddy,” he says shyly.

“You’re welcome, princess,” Louis says. 

Harry blushes at the pet name but doesn’t say anything else, just continues to cuddle his new stuffed animal. Before too long, his eyes begin to droop as he lazily sucks his thumb. 

Shuffling them both toward the head of the bed, Louis pulls up the covers and drapes it over them. “You wanna take a nap, love?” Louis asks gently, combing his fingers through Harry’s hair. 

Harry’s eyelashes flutter closed, because of the comforting feeling of Louis’ fingers or because his crying fit exhausted him, but he weakly shakes his head. “I not tired, Daddy,” he whispers around his thumb, “no nap.”

Louis chuckles to himself knowing Harry will be out in a few minutes. “Alright, then. How about Daddy reads you a story?” Louis suggests. 

Harry nods excitedly and snuggles against Louis’ chest as Louis begins to tell him a story about a boy with green eyes and curly hair who fell in love with a handsome prince. Before too long, Harry is asleep, his bunny cuddled against his face as he continues to suck his thumb and one arm around Louis’ waist. Louis smiles at the relaxed look on his boy’s face, enjoying the peace and quiet while it’s still available, and tries not to think about their management team, or Harry with a beard, as he curls against Harry to take a nap himself. Louis falls asleep thinking about a boy with green eyes and curly hair who fell in love with a handsome prince.


End file.
